Notes on Notes
April 15, 2008 | Filed Under Simplify, Sheldon, Church | 2 Comments
General Conference came again this month and it was great. One extra reason that it was great is pretty minor, but nonetheless important, at least to me. I was able to take notes this time and feel good about it. You see, my Conference / Church Meeting notes are usually scraps of paper (or even worse, a program) that I end up tucking away between the pages of my scriptures or somewhere not all that accessible later. Sometimes they are really quality notes, only to be forgotten because they were scribbled and folded away.
This time around I decided to change that approach by doing what I do with my creative projects. I have a couple of quality notebooks that I use to jot down ideas, thoughts, quotes, sketches, and I really value them. They are ‘perfect’ stitch bound, meaning they have no rings or holes. I like the flexible leather kind, filled with graph paper. (Grid paper is great for sketching and geometric shapes, and no matter where you write on the page, it’s on a line). I usually get the black Miquel Rius ones at any Barnes & Noble (but you can get some great ones online too). In fact, I had one that I brought with me to Taiwan, and during that time it really was invaluable, because I scribbled so many thoughts and sketches down. I look over them frequently.
Anyway, I bought one to be used only for Sunday and General Conference notes. One thing that I’m also picky about is also the type of pen. I use inky, Pilot pens, technical pens, and pretty much any pen that flows well and doesn’t bleed through the paper.
So far so good.
Applying - M.ARCH
January 22, 2008 | Filed Under Simplify, Architecture, Family | 4 Comments
Aside from the apartment fiasco, I have been laboring away for the last couple of months, on a personal portfolio, along with the other requirements–as I am applying out-of-state to another graduate program in Architecture. I already did my undergraduate work in Utah, and we have been here since 2002. But I took a leave of absence for the arrival of Keane. It was the best thing for me to do at the time. Gave me a chance to step out of school and focus on family and future goals. We decided it was time for a change. Ever since Keane was born, we have been looking seriously at moving. So I have been looking at Midwest-area Architecture programs, because my family is back there. Graduate school takes a lot of work and time. We believe that having family near, will be a smoother experience for everyone (especially Kuei and the boys), while I’m on a site somewhere or in studio all day. Another important consideration is the fact that Brighton has lived in urban areas for most of his years (Downtown SLC, Taipei, etc).
Now Utah, in general, is a great place for kids. Utah is a great place for families. (The Bear Lake area, for example, with the green fields, the farms and mountains, is very beautiful and we love that area). But here in downtown SLC, it is the only city in the whole State with an accredited Architecture program. So Brighton’s day-to-day experiences have been more of the urban variety: Trains, sirens, high-rises. All things that I love. But kids need to stretch their legs more, you know? Run in a field as endless as the horizon. Get away from the ambient light. Children need the ocean, the soil, the fields, the sky. At least that’s what I want my children to grow up experiencing frequently. Our time allows us to experience some of that in Utah, some of the time. But the boys are growing fast, and at this stage in our lives, we’d prefer living in an area a little more serene. Maybe a little boring, mind you, but with family near, it should be worthwhile. Maybe we’re trying to simplify our lives a bit? Probably. So we are likely planning to move this summer to the Midwest (upon my acceptance to an M.ARCH program).
If I get into a graduate program there, we hope to find a house eventually (without the sprinkler head system, of course) for a few years. So I sent out my records (don’t have to take the GRE again, thank goodness) and I got my references lined up, nearly finished tweaking my “statement of purpose.” The thing that is taking some time is making the book. I’m preparing a PDF of my work in Adobe InDesign , then plan to send it off to Lulu to bind a 32-pager in either saddle-stitch or perfect. It will be a nice 8.5 x 8.5 (square) full-color presentation. Then it’s two months of waiting…
Teaser Post
December 31, 2007 | Filed Under Holidays, Simplify | 3 Comments
A ‘real’ post is coming soon…It has been a while, I know. And everyone else has at least “Merry Christmas! / Happy New Year!” entries already. So Madeofsun.net is a little behind. I’m blaming tryptophan.
Stuff
September 15, 2007 | Filed Under Simplify, Family | 4 Comments
So I have some things that I should be working on. But we’re all trying to shake being a little sick lately. So I guess I shouldn’t feel too bad about sipping soup and watching “Night at the Museum” with the family instead. “…Do you want the job or not, snackshack?” 
But…here’s some stuff on my action list….
Portfolio
My notebook has a lot of loose papers with scribbled layouts for a design portfolio I’m trying to put together. It should be about 20-24 pages, something hardbound. Landscape styled, under 11×17 though…I’d like to make a book, and I’ll likely need to use InDesign or something to get it right. I’ve been looking over my undergrad projects too, and trying to select some pieces to showcase. More CDs to look through…..
Hanzi (Chinese Characters)
Memorize more characters. Laoshi said that I need to learn about 2000-3000 to read a newspaper well. Need to get some good flashcards…
CAD
Fire up ArchiCAD and go visit Tom. ArchiCAD’s organic modelling integration is something I need more insight into.
Simplify our space
We don’t like a lot of clutter. “Everything needs a place,” Kuei reminds me. Thing is, that means we have too many boxes of stuff. We still need to get things in better order at home. Kuei is way more organized than me and is good with interior styling and such. We recently bought some bookshelves from IKEA and put them together for the living room…but there’s still more stuff to sort….Brighton’s toys, etc.
We need to get a white board or something too. I use my computer, and Kuei uses calendars, but we need something out in the open, to keep track of all this fluid stuff too:
…..Get in a good FHE…buy better pens/notebook/binder for school, schedule a checkup for baby Keane…need food storage/emergency prep items….dentist appt for Brighton……readjust Scottstrade account….call my sister….setup better account for online bill pay (tired of envelopes/stamps)….go swimming more often….look into rims for Scion xB…send DVD with photos to family in Taiwan/US….et cetera
I’m sure we all have similar lists out there. Any good tips for staying on top of it all, anyone? I used to use a weekly/monthly planner thing that was large but I got tired of the format. I think a white board might be good…we also have trays for mail, and that has working okay.